I might have stopped by to see Aiden to smooth things over. But distance was probably better for both of us. Me seeing him now would only add to the speculation surrounding us.
At home, I went straight to Dad’s office downstairs, the room we’d converted into a bedroom for Evan’s stay. It was still a bedroom. I hadn’t done anything to the room since kicking him out. The sheets were still tangled. I left it. Dad had moved some boxes upstairs into the spare bedroom to make room for Evan’s stuff while he was in town.
Everything was boxed up, and I didn’t think he’d have his will there. I left that room and went into his bedroom. I stopped in the doorway. The room faintly smelled of him and my eyes misted. God, I missed him. I forced myself forward and opened his closet. His clothes hung there in anticipation of being worn. I’d have to decide what to do with them, but not now.
I crouched to find his home safe sitting on the floor. I didn’t have to guess at the code. It was my mother’s birthday. Though that was an easily hacked number, dad wouldn’t change it.
Inside, his gun sat on top. I pulled it out and set it to the side with the barrel facing away from me. I’d been taught at a young age all about gun safety. Then, I pulled out four stacks of bills. Dad believed in being prepared. In the event we had to leave in a hurry because of weather or any other natural disaster, he’d want to have access to cash. Underneath was a letter with my name on it.
I rocked back as a wave of pain clenched my chest. With unsteady fingers I worked open the seal as tears poured from my eyes.
Emmabean, it began. I choked out a sob and had to close my eyes before I could read on.
If you are reading this, I guess I’ve passed on and I’m sorry for it. Because otherwise I would be telling you these words while on my death bed long in the future instead of you reading them.
First, I want to say how incredibly proud I am of you and the woman you’ve become. Yes, you are still finding your place in the world, but I have no doubt you’re on the right path.
I hope you find happiness as I did with your mother even if it’s with Evan. It’s the greatest gift one can have next to the love of one’s child.
He’d obviously written this recently, I thought. Why had he been thinking about death? Had something really been wrong with his health? I continued reading.
I know you want to leave Mason Creek. I can’t blame you. When I was young, I wanted to leave too until I met your mother. Then, I didn’t want to share her with the world. It was safer to keep her here.
I smiled a little.
I never stopped loving her and I’ll never stop loving you in this life or the next. Don’t tell the reverend I said that.
Then, I did laugh a little.
My Emma. Your life is your own. Though I leave everything to you, you choose to do what it is as you want. The house, the pub, everything. Those things are your Mom’s and my dreams. They don’t have to be yours. I’ll leave that up to you. Whatever you decide, don’t let things hold you back from being you. I trust and respect you.
If I haven’t said it enough, I love you, always,
Dad
I curled in a ball on the floor and cried while clutching the letter. My heart once again broke into a million pieces.
When my tears dried, my first instinct was to call Aiden. I didn’t want to acknowledge that. Instead, I picked myself up and went back down to the room below to purge my house of any evidence of Evan’s presence. I started with the bed sheets. Before I started the laundry, Aiden’s shirts sat neatly folded where I’d done laundry the other day. I’d caused Aiden too much embarrassment. I would need to figure out a way to return them to him without the entire town finding out.
Chapter 16
Aiden
For the last few days, I combed through hours of footage I’d gotten from the jewelry store and the auto shop because I couldn’t enter a day or time to find the segment I wanted.
The jewelry store footage hadn’t gone back far enough. Though I did watch for vehicles late at night for the BOLO for the missing girl. I found nothing.
I hit pay dirt with auto shop store footage. On the night of Doug’s death, I spotted his car go into the lot at a little past midnight. Maybe twenty minutes later, another vehicle passed the bar, but it didn’t turn into the lot. The car disappeared on Highland Place at a slow pace. I couldn’t tell if it stopped and parked before it went out of range. I made a note of the license plate. A quick search led me to a car rental company.